Sisters Before Misters
by Sha-nay-nay rocks
Summary: Ever since Lucas Friar moved to town Riley has had a crush on him. Maya being her best friend stayed away, but when Maya and Lucas are paired together for a project they realize they have a connection. Can Maya stay away or will she fall for Lucas. Will they find out what Maya is keeping from them.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Riley was buzzing with excitement. Tonight was her and Lucas's first date and everything had to be perfect. She could not risk one hair on her head being slightly out of place. There was so much to do and she needed to get ready. The only problem was she was stuck in school till three o'clock.

Which meant two more hours of staring at the wall and dreaming of Lucas's amazing green eyes and perfect smile. "Earth to Riley. Are you alive?" Maya asked as Riley awoke from her day dream.

"I'm fine," Riley replied sheepishly embarrassed her friend had caught her drooling over Lucas again. It wasn't her fault he was totally dreamy. With his totally kissable lips and his adorable southern drawl. Every girl would die for a chance with him. Except of course Maya.

Maya was way to cool to ever show even the tiniest crush she have. She could just put on her ''i have bigger problems'' face and nobody would guess that she could secretly like them Riley on the other hand was different. If she had a crush she was giggling and smiling and saying stupid things.

Riley looked at Maya carefully. Something wasn't right. She seemed thinner than usual. She was wearing a ton of makeup. It was almost 90 degrees out and she was wearing long sleeves. Riley was worried. "Why are you wearing so much make-up?" she asked.

Maya gave her a confused look. "My neighbor is an Avon Lady she gave me a bunch of free samples." She said like it was the most obvious thing ever. That was totally a lie. Maya would have brought her samples if she knew a Avon Lady.

"Why were you late this mourning?" Riley asked maybe she was being rude but her parents often worried about Maya's mother. She never came to school meetings and Maya never talked about her.

"My alarm didn't go off." Maya said. She was probably annoyed with the questions but Riley was sick of the lies. She had never once lied to Maya. Why did she think is was okay to lie to her.

"Why are you wearing long sleeves? It is totally hot out." Riley asked. She wanted answers. And she knew there was no excuse for that one.

"Seriously. What are you some kind of detective?" Maya joked. Now she was turning the tables. "I mean why do you even care about my clothes or makeup." Riley wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. But she was saved when Lucas walked over. Maya's face lit up and she almost seemed relieved to.

"Howdy cowboy," she said. She always seemed happy when she talked to him. Even if all they did was bicker and Maya always lost to his cool easy going comments she was always smiling when he was near. This should make Riley nervous but she knew Maya would never even think about being with Lucas. She may be wild and rebellious but she had always been loyal to their friendship.

"Hello Maya." He said with a smile. "I see the nicknames have yet to improve." Maya just smiled and shook her head. Lucas turned toward Riley. He still had his perfect bright smile. "Hi Riley." He said. His country accent was all kinds of adorable.

"H-Hi Lucas,"She barely managed to stutter out. He just kept smiling at her like she was the most adorable thing on Earth. Then she realized she was going to have to talk to him. What could she possibly say. She looked for Maya who had already left to lecture Farkle about how she would rather have her eyes pecked out by pigeons than go to the Science Museum with him. Riley began to panic when a_ "Bring Bring"_ came through the speakers.

"May i escort you to class?" Lucas asked with his southern accent on over drive. Riley blushed and nodded. They walked to class arm and arm. and took seats next to each other.The bell rang again but the seat next to Riley was still empty. And Maya was late again. The teacher, Riley's dad, had already begun teaching the lesson when Maya finally ran into the room.

"Sorry I'm late Mr. Matthews," Maya said out of breath from her apparent run. He looked at Maya for a second then nodded toward the seat next to Riley and turned back to the board.

"Alright class," He said. "For the assignment you are going to be given a partner and you and that partner are going to get to know each other. Compare and contrast you skills, traits, hobbies, families, ect." Riley and Maya looked at each other and smiled. This was going to be easy. "Wait. I will also be picking partners randomly." He added and pulled out a can full of popcicle sticks. He began reading off names. "Brandon and Jessie. George and Jack. Farkle and Riley." Farkle made hurray noises and Riley just sighed. It could have been worse. She listened to hear who Lucas got. "Maya and Lucas," her dad said.

"Oh I got this covered," Maya said. "He likes hoedowns, cow tipping, and square dancing." Maya said in her fake country accent.

"And Maya likes shopping, texting, and eating hotdogs from street vendors who smell like horse urine." Lucas says his sweet smile now a victorious smirk.

"Ok first off," Maya says back annoyed. "I only like one out of those three things. And second. Seriously shopping and texting thats all you have."

"Alright now class," Her dad says. Clearly amused but trying not to let it show. "The assignment is due in exactly two weeks. Be creative and try not to kill each other."

It was going to be a long two weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Maya was nervous. She never had to go home on the weekends. She almost always spent them at the Matthews. But tonight Riley had her date with Lucas which meant she would have to go home. She had never realized how lucky she was to have a friend with no social life. Thankfully make-over time with Riley was exactly what she needed to not think about having to deal with her mother.

"Prepare to be blown away," Riley said as she walked into the room doing the Riley version of a model walk which looked more like a rain dance than a sexy strut. The outfit was bright, colorful, and adorable like everything in Riley's closet. She looked like school Riley but with more lip gloss and better hair.

Riley smiled nervously. "Do I look like girlfriend material?" She asked. Maya looked her over. Riley was the type of girl who made small talk with you mother and laughed at your dad's lame "back in the day" jokes. She would be the perfect girlfriend. She was pretty, precious, and polite. She handled all three Ps.

"You would be the perfect girlfriend." Maya said.

"But I can hardly talk to him." Riley said getting even more nervous.

"Riley, if there is one thing I have learned from being your friend. It is that you never stop talking." Maya said.

"What if he thinks I'm annoying." Riley says. She looked like she was on the verge of a break down.

"Riley, do you like Lucas?"

"Of course I do."

"Why do you like Lucas?"

"Because he's cute. And I like his eyes and his smile. And i like that he has an accent."

"Do you know anything about him?" Riley gave her a look and blushed.

"Not really."

"So just ask him a bunch of random questions until you feel comfortable really talking to him."

Riley looked at her as though she had grown another head. "Did you just give me good advice?" She asked dumbfounded.

Maya smiled. "I have my moments now go. There is a good looking cowboy waiting to take you out on a date."

"I'm going," She said laughing. Maya smiled as they walked out of the room.

The rest of the Matthews were sitting on the couch. Topanga smiled when she saw Riley. But Cory's smile turned into a frown when he saw her. He pointed at Riley. "You do not need make-up." He said standing up and walking toward her. "I want this boy looking at my daughters real face. It is beautiful and amazing. But I cant find it under all the make-up she put over it."

"Thanks daddy," Riley said as she gave him a hug. Maya felt her stomach sink the way it always did when she saw a father and a daughter together. It felt like she was watching the trailer for the best movie ever but she would never get to see the actual movie.

"I should probably get home." Maya said although home is the last place she wanted to be.

"Thanks for all of your help." Riley said giving her a hug.

"Good luck tonight." Maya said before walking out the door.

She walked down the hall slowly not really in a hurry to get anywhere. She was about to get onto the elevator when she noticed Lucas walking toward the Matthews door. "Hey there cowboy," she said smiling at the lame nickname.

"Hi Maya," he said flashing his smile that made most girls swoon all over him. "I meant to ask you this earlier but when do you want to get together to work on the project."

She just shrugged and he asked, "Can you come over Sunday?"

"I guess." she said not exactly sure why he was so eager to get started on this project.

"Great," He said smiling. "I'll text you my address."

Maya looked at him. Everything about him screamed perfect. He was to good to be true. Which was good because Riley deserved someone perfect.

*LINE BREAK*

Maya didn't exactly live in luxury. Her apartment was on the gross creepy part of the city. And the inside was gross and creepy too. The worst part was that she was usually alone in it.

But she could see the light on now which meant her mom was home. That was worse than being home alone. Hopefully she would be to preoccupied with whatever boyfriend she had brought home this time to notice Maya sneak into the bedroom.

Maya took out her key and attempted to open the door without making a sound. She was almost into the bedroom when she ran into a man. He smelled like beer and he looked gross and creepy. He looked at Maya for a second then shouted, "Katy I think some kid broke into the house."

"What are you talking about?" her mom asked as she walked out of her room. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Maya. "Maya what are you doing here?"

Maya thought about saying something snarky back. Then she thought of what the punishment would be if she did. "Um I need my books. I have a project I need to work on." She was hopping it would be a good enough excuse. Her mother was always complaining about all the emails she was getting from Maya's teachers.

"Ok lets have a talk in the kitchen." Her mother said walking towards the kitchen. Maya followed her scared of what her mother had to say to her.

Her mother was mad. She could see it in her eyes. She had seen that look everyday for the past two years. Ever since it happened her mother had been striving to make Maya feel every ounce of pain she had caused her.

"We have rules in this house," Her mother said. "You are to stay out when I have guests."

"I am so sorry I-" Her mother cut her of by slapping her.

"Do not interrupt me!" Her mother screamed at her. Then she picked up a sharpie marker. "Give me your arm." She said. Maya lifted her arm up to her. "Now," Her mom said lifting up the sleeve. "If you get to happy well your out. Just lift up your sleeve and remind yourself of what you really are." Maya looked down at her wrist where her mom had written _pain in my ass_ in large bold letters on her already ink stained wrist. She felt tears well up in her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

Then she turned away from her mother and ran.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Maya was standing in front of the Matthews building. All she wanted to do was climb through Rileys window and talk about nothing. She wanted to get her mind off of everything. Riley had always been her escape from everything around her.

Now she could see them walking down the street. Riley was giggling loudly and Lucas's smile was shinning as bright as ever. They were the perfect couple. And for some odd reason that killed Maya. If Riley got a boyfriend were did that leave her.

They were getting closer and Maya didn't want to ruin the date so she hid around the corner. Riley was staring at Lucas with her big bright eyes. She obviously wanted him to kiss her. But Maya didn't see the same look in Lucas's eyes. He looked nervous. He walked her to the door. "Bye," He said. Riley's eyes were closed so he very carefully shut the door.

Maya was confused. They were perfect for each other. Why wouldn't he want to kiss her. He had been making googly eyes at Riley for the past two months. "What was that about?" Maya asked. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

"Has anyone ever told you it's rude to spy on people?" He asked. He seemed distraught which was odd because he wasn't the one that just got blown off.

"How was the date?" She asked.

"Not what I was expecting," He said.

"Is that a good thing?"

"I don't really know," He said. He still seemed agitated about something. "Tonight when I looked at her I only saw a friend. When things got romantic it just felt awkward."

"Well I always imagined you getting married to a pig. Maybe your soul mate is at the nearest hot dog stand and you don't even know it."

He laughed. "How do you come up with this stuff?" He asked.

"It just kind of flows," She said.

"If I may ask why are you flowing out side of Riley's house this late at night?"

"If I may ask why do you care?"

"I was just wondering sorry,"

"Oh, does little Lucas care about me?" I joked.

His eyes darkened. He seemed hurt. "Of course I care. We're friends." Maya was taken back by this. She had never truly thought of them as friends. They liked to bicker and joke but they weren't close. This was the closest thing to a normal conversation they had ever had. "We are friends right?" He asked.

"Alright but no secret hand shakes." She said kind of glad that they were friends.

"Deal," He said. She smiled. She had always thought of Lucas as something that came with having Riley as a friend. Never had she thought that they would become good friends. "I have to go," He said. "See you Sunday." He said. Then he was gone and she was still sitting on the steps in front of Riley's building.

After a few moment of thinking about what he had said. She got thinking maybe things were finally starting to get better for her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Riley was awakened by a soft knock coming from her window.

There was no sunlight coming in through the window. Instead she was greeted by a mess of blond hair. It had to be almost midnight and there was Maya trying to sneak into her house.

Riley could tell Maya was becoming impatient. Her knocking had gotten faster and louder. She knew if she didn't open it soon Maya would resort to banging on the window and waking up everyone else. So she stumbled over to the window and slammed it open. Careful to look dramatic enough but not loud enough to wake up Auggie or her parents.

"Can i come in," Maya asked.

Riley sighed. She wanted to slam the window down on Maya's fingers just because she woke her up. But she had a feeling if it had anything to do with Maya's family it was serious. "I guess," She said. Still wary of what exactly her friend had been doing.

Maya looked surprisingly happy. The grin on her face was hard to miss as she climbed through the window. "I know it's late but do you mind if I sleep over tonight?" Maya asked. She seemed normal. Same clothes, same face, same hair, same Maya. It was just a new scenario. Riley was usually the one asking for favors.

Riley just nodded. She had gotten so tired her brain didn't have the energy to form words. Maya smiled. Riley nodded again and crawled back into bed. Maya still smiling crawled in next to her. Without saying a word to each other they fell asleep both exhausted from the nights events.

*LINE BREAK*

When Riley woke up she was almost startled to see Maya sleeping next to her. But her memories of last night soon came flooding back to her. She smiled a bit. Sleeping Maya was far less intimidating then awake Maya. Without the sarcasm and the smirks and the eyebrows she didn't seem that scary.

Riley smiled at an idea came to her. She slowly got up and went around to Maya's side of the bed. She put her face close to Maya's ear and screamed, "Maya!" As loud as she could. May jumped a bit and banged her head against the wall.

Riley started cracking up while Maya sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "What is wrong with you?" Maya said still rubbing her head. Riley just laughed harder.

They heard a knock and her mom opened the door. "Riley honey, there is someone here that would-" She stopped when she saw Maya. "Oh. Hi Maya." She looked confused but she didn't say anything. Maya gave her a small wave still rubbing her head where she smacked it.

"Who is it Mom?" Riley asked.

"It's an old friend," She said then smiled at Maya. "You would probably like him." She told her. Maya raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Well then I want to meet him," She said. Riley wasn't in the mood for company but she tried not to let it show. Her mom nodded and walked out of the room. Maya was staring at her. "How did the date go?" She asked.

Riley shrugged. She tried not to look like the date had been awful. "Well it started off good. He was really sweet. We walked around and we talked and it felt normal. But when we got to doing actual date stuff it got really awkward. Like neither if us could talk or say anything. We just sat their and stared at each other. Not even the good kind of stare where you get lost in each others eyes," When I said that Maya started laughing.

"Let me guess. After staring at him you realized he looked kind of like a cow," Maya said smiling at herself.

"No, on the way home we connected again I could feel it. So when he came to walk me through the door I was sure he was going to kiss me. I stood there ready for it but then when he knew I was waiting for a kiss he just shut the door in my face and left. He was in such a hurry he didn't even say good-bye." Riley said. She was still mortified that that had happened.

Maya was laughing so hard. But after meeting Riley's eyes she quit laughing. "Hey he's missing out." She said. "Now we are supposed to meet this old friend of your parents." Maya was trying hard to make her feel better.

"Ya c'mon," Riley said walking towards the kitchen. When they got there there was a man sitting at the table. When he saw them he smiled. He walked over. "You must be Riley." He said looking at her. He turned towards Maya. "You must be Maya the best friend." He said Maya nodded.

He stuck out his hand. "Its nice to meet you. I'm Shawn," he said. His smile seemed impossibly big. "I'm also the best friend."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Maya was shocked.

She had heard of the great Shawn Hunter. He was one of the Matthew's favorite things to talk about. They told legends of the boy that used to be their best friend.

That was what Maya had always thought of Shawn Hunter as. The boy who used to be Mr. Matthew's best friend. The boy who always got everyone into trouble. The boy with a crazy family. The boy who seemed to be exactly like Maya. Now there was a man in the Matthew's kitchen claiming to be that same boy.

Shawn looked at Riley in awe. "How in the world did Cory Matthew's manage to have such a pretty daughter?" He was obviously amusing himself and it didn't seem to matter to him that everyone else was still to shocked to laugh.

Maya looked over at Riley. She was staring dumbfounded at Shawn like he were a man sized diamond. Maya knew Riley would be to nervous to talk so she piped up for her, "She wouldn't know. They haven't given us that talk in school yet." She was hoping the joke wasn't to lame. Seeing the Matthew's long lost best friend made it hard to think of snarky comments.

Shawn's smile grew at her attempt to humor him. He looked her up and down and Maya found her self instinctively grabbing her wrists and looking down to hide her face. She was always uncomfortable when people looked at her like that. As if looking for the mistakes she had forgotten to hide.

She was sure he could tell that her home-life sucked. She could tell by the way he looked at her. She could tell by the sympathy in his smile. She could tell by the way that even now as he was chatting with Cory he was still staring at her through the corner of his eye.

It was starting to make her nervous. What if he confronted her mom. She would kill Maya for making it so obvious. Or if he told Mr. and Mrs. Matthews they would do something parently and stupid and Maya would get in trouble. It was too much for Maya to think about. She was starting to feel sick to her stomach. She had to get out of there.

"Thank you for having me Mr. and Mrs. Matthews." She said even though they only found out she had spent the night about half an hour ago. They were smiling at her with there usual parent-like smiles. She began to feel even sicker from their comfort and lovingness. It felt wrong coming from them. She hadn't gotten that smile from her mom in over two years.

"Are you leaving already Maya?" Shawn asked. His knowing smile was enough to make her vomit but she held in the need to puke and was thankful she didn't have enough food in her to throw-up anyway. She simply nodded ignoring the pain in her pounding head that was screaming at her to get out of the apartment.

"But you always stay over on the weekends," Riley said. Confusion was written all over her face as she grabbed Maya's hand. Her face went from a mask of cunfusion to sympathy as she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh no," Maya answered hopefully not to quickly. "Lucas and I are working on the project today and plus I would hate to get in the way of you guys reuniting with your friend." She had a feeling Riley knew she was lying.

"Well it was nice to meet you Maya," Shawn said once again extending his hand for Maya to shake.

"You too Mr. Hunter," She said wincing at how formal the words were. She grabbed his hand quickly and grasped it tight in an effort not to let him see it shake.

"Please never call me that again," He said as Maya turned toward the door.

She shouted one last goodbye before exiting their apartment.

As soon as the door closed behind her she sank to the floor. She sat outside the Matthews door glad to be able to breath took heavy gulps of air but her heart continued racing from the realization of what just happened. She had just excused herself from the only place she had to stay at for the weekend.

She didn't know where she was going to go. But she just really wanted something to get her mind off everything. She took out the phone Mr. Matthews had bought her years ago. Lucas and her weren't going to start the project until tomorrow. Maybe school work would help keep her from thinking about all of the bad stuff that was happening.

So she sent him a text to try and change it. "_Can't make it tomorrow. Can we work on it today?" _She typed.

She only had to wait about 30 seconds for his reply. _"Can you come in half an hour?" _

She got up and stretched out her legs before typing. _"C U then"_.

She was surprised to hear her phone beep again and even more surprised to read what he had sent. _"I love it when you talk all text-like to me." _She rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure if she should respond to that so she pocketed her phone and started walking to his house.

-LINE BREAK-

She was at his house 27 minutes later. The subway had been less crowded than she expected so she was early. Three whole minutes early to be exact.

She rang his door bell hoping his parents wouldn't answer the door. She was sure She looked like she had spent the night sleeping in an alley and probably smelled like it too. Relief flooded through her when Lucas opened the door smiling all gentleman like.

"Welcome to my home." He said with a welcoming wave of his arm. Maya walked in but remained on the welcome mat. She had never been in such a clean place before. The floor shined and all of the furniture looked brand new. She even felt bad for getting the welcome mat she was standing on dirty.

Lucas smirked at her hesitation. "Come on I have the assignment out in the living room," He said dragging her even farther into his overly clean apartment. He sat on the fancy looking couch and started shifting through the papers on the coffee table. Maya remained standing. She was scared she would somehow break the couch if she sat down.

He stopped looking through the papers and looked at the couch next to him most likely just now noticing Maya's absence. He looked at her with his stormy green eyes waiting. When she continued to remain standing he patted the couch next to him inviting her to sit.

She sat next to him on the way to comfortable couch. He just smiled that smile all the girls loved and went back to looking through the papers. Sitting next to him she could feel the warmth coming from his body. The warmth that Riley should be feeling not her. He still had his smile that Riley should be looking at not her. And he started talking in his southern accent that Riley should be hearing not her. "Ok so I think we should start with basic questions like-"

She cut him off. "Ok I really don't get the point of this project. What does getting to know each other have to do with history?" She asked. She had been late to that class because her mom had called the school still drunk from the night before asking where Maya was. Her mom had tried telling the principle that Maya was grounded and needed to come home ASAP. She had to spend most of the class trying to convince her mom to go back to bed. It was humiliating. Especially when she had to lie to the principle and cover up for her mom by saying her mom was sick and the medicine she was taking was making her delirious.

"Mr. Matthews said that when people immigrate to knew countries they have to learn new cultures so he wants us to see how hard it is to learn about new things." He told her.

"Ok I get it. So we just have to learn new things about each other?" She asked and he nodded. "Great tell me about Texas." She said confidently knowing how much Lucas loved and missed that part of his life.

"I will but you can't make fun of it," He said excitedly. She smirked at his excitement to talk about his old life.

"No promises," She said. "Now talk about what it was like way over yonder." She put in the fake country accent knowing it was useless because he wouldn't care. And he didn't. He just smiled like it was all just a good old time. And started talking about his ranch and his horses and his family.

Maya listened to him. She noticed that she liked the way he talked. Not so much what he sounded like the accent still annoyed her but how he looked when he talked. When he talked to Riley he always seemed nervous and unsure of what he had to say. But when he talked to her he seemed much more confident. His chin was raised, his eyes were bright, and his mouth quirked up at the corners so it looked like he was smiling at what he had to say.

She hardly even noticed when he stopped talking. She was still thinking about his smile. "Maya, " He said. He was looking at her with a smirk on his face. She just stared at him blankly forgetting what she had meant to say to him. His smirk grew. "Well my good looks have been known to make girls speechless."

Maya just rolled her eyes trying not to let him see the blush on her face. She bent down and pretended to stretch hiding her face. With her arms. "Alright enough about me," He said. "What's it like to grow up in New York City?"

Maya stopped moving and sat still as a statue. Maybe if she didn't move at all she would completely disappear. But she was still there and he was still staring at her waiting to hear her story. She opened her mouth about to say something stupid when she heard a beep.

Lucas reached down to grab his phone. "Sorry it's my brother. He came home from college to visit and he has been so annoying." His said but he seemed embarrassed about something. Maya raised an eyebrow and he blushed a little. "You know how siblings are they just know exactly what to say to completely humiliate you." He said still blushing a bit. "Well maybe you don't know how siblings are sorry."

"I used to," Maya said without even realizing it. Now it was her turn to blush as he raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have a brother or sister." Maya didn't answer. "What do you mean used to. Like did they...-" He cut himself off. "Oh my God Maya I'm sorry I didn't- I mean I should have- I mean." He sighed obviously having a hard time covering up what he said. Maya didn't blame him. She never talked about her family. Now he just knew why. "Do you want to like talk about it."

Maya could not have wanted to do anything less. She just glared at him. He just moved closer to her and put a hand on her knee. She looked at his hand but didn't move. For some reason she didn't want to.

"Look I know you don't want to but it helps to talk. When I found out I was moving away from everything I knew in my Sophomore year of high school I flipped. I slept in a barn for 3 days. I didn't accept it until my brother came and talked to me about how I would be okay," He looked at her sweetly but she didn't budge. "If you talk to me I will tell you one of my secrets. Please just talk."

She couldn't say know now. He was to hard to say no to. And she had always wanted to talk to someone about what happened. "Fine," She said. She couldn't keep it in any longer. He gave her an encouraging smile.

"When my mom was sixteen she got pregnant. Her boyfriend who thought he loved her stayed with her. They dropped out of high school my mom moved into his house and they raised the baby. Three years later they had me. This time my dad demanded she get an abortion because they couldn't afford me. My mom refused she wanted to have the baby. So my dad decided my mom and my sister and I weren't worth it and left the day after I was born." Maya stopped talking. She got chocked up.

Lucas gave her knee an encouraging squeeze. She cleared her throat. "My mom decided I wasn't worth and so my grandmother took me in. She raised me because she felt bad for the way she had raised my mother. But when I was seven lung cancer took her. She was only 47 too. So my mom took me back but she was crazy. Ever since my dad left my mom just kept getting worse. So my sister made it her job to protect me from her." Maya stopped remembering the girl who had once been her sister.

She pushed back the memories. "We became close. She would let me hide in her room and draw on her wall when things with my mom got bad. When my mom brought home her boyfriends I would hide in her room and sleep with her and she would comfort me while the awful freaks would get in fights with my mom. They would yell at her and hit her but she always brought them back. She still does. Soon I had covered the whole wall in my sisters room with sharpie drawings." Maya smiled at the good memories of her sister.

"One day my mom came tearing into my sisters room wondering what we were up to. When she saw the wall she grabbed me and started yelling at me. I had always been the one in the family who was drawing and painting so she knew I had done it. But my sister swore it was her. My mom took the sharpie and started writing on her. She wrote these horrible words all over her arms and her legs and her stomach and neck and her back. Then she started yelling about how she worked her ass off for our apartment and we needed to treat it better. I was eleven then and it was the first time I truly understood that she was as crazy as my sister said she was."

"My sister managed to keep her away but me and Riley were getting closer. Soon I was hardly even home. Things were getting worse for my sister. But to her as long as she was protecting me it didn't mater. But the day before my thirteenth birthday my sister saw my mom yell at me. And when my mom slapped me she flipped. Her and my mom got in a huge fight. After the fight I went to go comfort my sister and I told that my mom had been treating me like this for a while it was just getting worse because of my birthday. She realized she couldn't protect me and that she hadn't been protecting me and so the next day on my birthday i went to wake her up for school but she wouldn't wake up." Maya's eyes welled up but she didn't let any tears fall.

"My mom went in and saw the note on her nightstand that said "_Because I couldn't save Maya". _Thats when I understood. She had taken the easy way out. She wasn't strong enough. And I wasn't a good enough reason to stay." Maya stopped talking. Lucas was sitting there speechless. Then it hit her she had just told him everything. He would never look at her the same way. All he would give her now is pity.

She just kept talking. "She didn't realize that she had written another reason for my mom to hate me in the note either. My mom thinks I'm the reason she lost two of he things she loved. So she hates me. Now she wants me to feel all of the pain I caused her." Lucas moved his hand from her knee gently. Maya instantly missed its comfort.

He stared at Maya's shaking hands. He grabbed one carefully by the wrist. Slowly he pulled it down. His breath hitched in his throat as he looked at the words written on it. Maya waited for him to say something. She waited for him to be repulsed by the horrible words written on her arm. He must believe that they're true. Even Maya had started to believe. But all he said was," You're not," As his thumb brushed over the word _bitch_. When his thumb brushed over the words _worthless slut_ again he said,"You're not." He did that to every word written on her wrist. His touch sent volts of electricity running through her body.

He put her wrist down and grabbed her other arm. She closed her eyes knowing what he was going to see. He slowly slid down her sleeve and began drawing circles on her wrist with his thumb. His steady breath stopped suddenly and she knew what he saw. Standing out among the other words written in black sharpie was one word. Instead of being written in black ink it was carved into he arm.

She remembered the day it happened clearly. How angry her mother had been. The knife she had used. The reason why. The word she wrote. Maya was fifteen years old and had never kissed a boy yet her mom felt the need to carve the word _whore _her arm so she could look at it everyday for the rest of her life.

Without a word he threw his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. Not knowing what else to do she let him hold her. He smelled like axe and mint shampoo. She breathed in his sent and it comforted her somehow. She sat in his embrace letting him comfort her.

Noticing that she wasn't letting out her feelings he brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered,"Cry." And so she did. For the first time in two years she cried. At Lucas' command she let the tears fall slowly at first then they began to pour. She felt herself sobbing. She had kept all of these feelings inside of her for two years and now that she was letting them out she felt like she could actually breath.

After a while she pulled away from him. She wiped her tears with her sleeve. "I'm sorry," She just barely managed to choke out. "I probably look like such a mess." He smiled sadly and carefully wiped a tear away with his thumb.

"You look great," He said sweetly. "You always look great." She blushed just to add more to the mess that was already her tear streaked face. "Come on lets get you cleaned up." He said.

"I got it," She said. She walked down the hall until she found the bathroom. She washed off her face and looked at herself in the mirror. She was a mess he eyes were red and one of them was swollen. She had bruises on both cheeks from countless slaps. With a sigh she began applying makeup to cover up the bruises and tears. Soon she didn't look like she had been crying over her awful life. Instead she looked like she had been doing her project like she was supposed to have been doing.

She walked back to see Lucas still sitting on his couch picking up the papers from their project. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you," She said. He looked at her with his amazing green eyes and his swoon worthy smile and for the first time her heart melted. That was not something she should be feeling for her best friend's hopefully maybe boyfriend.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the couch next to her. He held both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes. His stormy green eyes mixed with her icy blue ones. "Are you ready to hear my secret?" He asked.

She was about to respond when his front door swung open. "We're here," A voice shouted. It had the same accent as Lucas'. A boy who looked exactly like Lucas only older came stomping in. He stopped when he saw the two on the couch. "you must be Maya the cute blond one." He said.

"Chris," Lucas said in a warning tone.

But the boy or Chris just continued talking. "I don't know what you mean by cute cause she is totally hot." Chris said. Maya blushed but still managed to smile her Maya Hart to-cool-for-school smile.

"Hi I'm Maya nice to meet you but I have to Leave," She said. "Lucas walk me out?"

"Of course." He said.

When they reached the door way Maya looked him dead in the eye. "You can not tell anyone what I told you today." Lucas nodded quickly. "Good. And by the way don't forget you oh me a secret."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Maya could feel the floor underneath her breaking. The facade she worked so hard to put up every day was crumbling. She had told Lucas just about everything.

Now she had to go face him at school and she wasn't sure if she could do it. What if he told Riley! He seemed sincere when he promised her he wouldn't tell anyone but if those two start dating and get really close there's no saying what he might spill. If Riley becomes more important to him than keeping her secret her life would be over.

If Riley knew she would go tell her dad who would tell his wife who was a lawyer and Maya knew that wouldn't end well. If her mom goes to jail then they'll put Maya in the system and then they could send her to God only knows where and she would never see Riley or any of the Mathews again.

Maya's knew her mom was a raging bitch but if she went to jail they would both lose. Maya would be stuck with some foster family that would probably hate her and she would have no Riley to keep her happy.

Maya couldn't sleep some nights because she was so paranoid about the coke under the couch cushions, and the unregistered pistol behind the sink. Her mom had several thousands of dollars in cash hidden away in a box in the closet which she counts every night. The money she made selling the stuff she stole from random men's apartments. Maya knew her mom got into deep shit and she didn't like it but she knew that there was nothing she could for her.

All she wanted was to not become her mother. So instead of hiding from the whole mess and skipping school Maya decided to get ready to face the music. She wanted to hate Lucas for everything but she knew that he was just watching out for her.

Maya left for school and tried to look like she didn't have a care in the world but on the inside she was having a major panic attack. She was doing her best to prepare herself for anything that could possibly happen but it was really just making her even more nervous.

What was she doing? She was Maya mother freaking Hart. Lucas did not scare her. Her mom did not scare her. And the truth didn't scare her. She was Maya Hart and she was invincible. She would survive no matter what happened. All she had to do was put on a strait cool face. That was all the amour she needed. A strait face and a care free attitude.

She must of looked like she was having a crazy argument inside of her head because Riley walked over to her looking concerned. "Maya, are you all right?" Riley asked. "You look like you are either really mad at yourself or your really mad at somebody else."

Maya shook her head a few times trying to get over her badass Maya moment. "Oh, I'm fine I was just trying to remember something," She said not really bothering to try and come up with a decent lie.

Riley had some sort of stupid smile on her face as she twirled her hair around her finger already forgetting her conversation with Maya. "Having flashbacks about your night with Lucas?" Maya guessed already knowing the answer.

"I know the date wasn't perfect but it just felt so amazing to be with him I can't even remember what wasn't right," Riley told her. "I mean I could just stare into his eyes and be in heaven." Maya found herself thinking about how amazing his eyes were. They were the prefect green like...

"What?" Maya found herself asking out loud. Riley gave her a confused look."Sorry i was up late last night on my phone and I'm really tired I just keep zoning out." She lied again. Why did she have to keep making up such stupid lies? And why was she daydreaming about Lucas's eyes? That was Riley's thing.

"Ok," Riley said oblivious to the stupid lie Maya just told. She was hardly ever on her phone. She didn't like reading enough for twitter, Snapchat pissed her off, and Instagram was too much work. Who wanted to post a picture if they had to go through the work of picking a perfect pose, choosing the right filter, and writing the right caption. It was exhausting.

The bell rang and Riley started dragging Maya into her dads room.

"Ok class now that you have had the weekend to start your reports how is everyones coming along?" Mr. Matthews asked. Most of the class just shrugged and continued staring blankly at there desk. Typical Monday. But of course a hand next her shot up at lightning speed. "Yes, Farkle." Mr. Mathews said.

Farkle smiled a bit creepily. "Riley and I have learned so much about each other. I think I'm even starting to understand how everything runs in your house." Frazzle said his voice a few octaves lower than normal. The crazed smile still on his face.

Mr. Matthews give him an uneasy glance. "Honey?" He asked.

"Yes daddy," Riley answered her eyes still remaining glued to Farkle. She looked pretty creeped out.

"Could you please tell Farkle less next time." Mr. Matthews said. Maya knew he was trying not to look nervous but it was pretty obvious he creeped out.

"Yes daddy," Riley repeated her eyes still giving Farkle a nervous look.

Mr. Matthews shuddered then looked around the room. "How about you Mister Friar. What did you learn about Maya?"

Lucas turned towards Maya and she felt her self unable to meet his eyes. "I learned plenty sir," Lucas answered still turned towards her. "Like her favorite color and her middle name and... um other important stuff."

"Okay then," Mr. Matthews said oblivious to the looks he was giving Maya. "Did the reason for the assignment become more clear for any of you?" He asked the class.

No body answered him. "Well I wanted you each to learn a thing or two about your class mates. Maybe the Matthews family is more traditional than the Minkas family. And maybe Lucas has more rules than Maya. Each family has a different lifestyle but I want you all to learn how life is for different people. You never know what happens behind closed doors." Maya shivered at the last part. Nobody can save her when she closes her door. Because nobody knows. Except Lucas.

The rest of the class was spent learning about immigration but Maya really didn't care. She doodled in her notebook until the bell rang. Riley ran out the door with Farkle hot on her tail but Maya took her time collecting her books. She was about to leave when she noticed Lucas was still getting his stuff.

"Hey," he said when she glanced over at him.

"Hey," She said back. "Look thanks for not telling anyone anything, but could you please stop acting like that."

He squinted at her. "Like what?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Like you know something about me ok. I feel like you have something over me."

He smirked at her. "Well..." He drawled out the word all southern like. Maya glared at him. She thought she could trust him and now he was using her trust like a threat. She wiped around and got ready to leave. "Maya come on." He called after her. "I was just being stupid. I'm sorry you feel like I'm holding this against you, but I'm glad I know."

"Yeah well I'm not." She shot back pissed at how big a jerk he was being.

He looked like he was sorry though. "Well you should be. Because now that I know I can help you."

"I don't want your help"

"Well you need it."

"I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"I know that but it wouldn't kill you to have someone to fall back on. Someone you can trust."

She rolled her. "So now you think I trust you."

"Now I know you trust me." He said and she knew he was right. "Maya I care about you and I don't want anything to happen to you. If anything happens just call me please or just come to my house. My door is always open and if I'm not home just please wait with my parents till I get there. Please I wanna help."

She took a deep breath. She didn't want to admit it but she really wanted his help. "Ok, fine I guess your right." She told him. He smiled and slung an arm over her shoulders.

"Of course I am." He boasted as they walked out of the room.

She laughed as they walked into the halls never once even considering that Mr. Matthews was right behind them collecting the in-class assignment.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lucas was pretty sure he was going bald. Everyday he was filled with crippling fear for Maya's well being and it was causing him a lot of stress. Earlier he counted eleven hairs on his tee-shirt. The whole situation was causing him to lose his hair!

He hated lying to Riley and the Mathews but Maya swore it was the only option. He wanted to tell his parents more than anything but he knew they would call a lawyer and send Maya's mom to jail. And Maya could be sent anywhere to a random family and he knew thats what she was scared of.

Truthfully he would be heart broken of she had to leave. He would never tell her that but without her New York wouldn't be the same without her. It wound be missing the little blonde girl that ran away completely unafraid of it. Lucas wouldn't be the same without Maya and he knew it. But he hated not knowing what happened when she went home. He wanted her to be safe more than anything.

He was especially worried about tonight. It was the parent teacher student meeting. They would all go to school tonight to meet there second semester teachers and discuss the first semester grades. It would be the first time Lucas had ever met Maya's mom.

She said she told her mom not to come but the lady insisted. She wanted to see where Maya wasted all of her time everyday. Lucas could already tell trouble was coming. Riley had mentioned earlier that tonight was the first time she would be seeing Maya's mom in over a year. If Riley and Maya were best friends and Maya spent so much time with the Mathews how did Riley never wonder about Mrs. Heart.

After changed into the so called "appropriate clothing" as his mom called it they headed out to leave.

Lucas would always consider himself a Texas man at heart, but one thing New York kicked ass at was Christmas. Bright lights covered everything and there was a decorated tree on every block. Santas filled the streets. Lucas liked the snow too. It may have been reduced to slush on the streets but it was better than the none they got in Texas.

When they had finally made it to the school Lucas noticed they were ten minutes early. His dad called this the "Friar way" he called it being a gentleman, but Lucas thought it was a waste of good time. He liked being nice and Texas like but sometimes his dad turned being kind into being excessive.

He noticed the Mathews walk in a few minutes late and went to greet Riley. She seemed to be in her usual chirpy mood, but something didn't feel right. Being near her felt awkward and uncomfortable. The same way it had in their date the other night. Being around Riley was always something that had been easy. Now that they had tried to take it to the next level and failed everything felt wrong.

"Hi Riley," He greeted. "Hello Mathews." He nodded at her parents. Something seemed tone bothering them. They both seemed to be wearing fake similes.

Mrs. Mathews gave him an exaggerated version of the fake smile she'd had on earlier. "Hi Lucas are you having a nice night."

He nodded and smiled politely. "I am thank you for asking." His words felt fake and stupid =, but they seemed to work fine. As soon he said them they both walked into Mr. Mathew's room talking in hushed voices.

Riley had been starring at the ground avoiding eye contact with him the whole time and she was still doing it. He was about to try and start an awkward conversation when something saved him. "Hello Lucas," Farkle ran over smiling. He turned towards Riley. "And how are you gorgeous?"

Riley laughed as if he were kidding with the pickup line. "I'm doing swell how are you Farkle?"

"I'm wonderful thank you Riley." He said before asking. "Did you guys hear about all the new teachers we're getting?"

Riley gave him a confused look. "What new teachers?"

"The new young ones. My dad says that they came fresh out of college with a ton of teaching degrees. He said schools are looking to save money so the new thing is that teachers learn to teach different classes and they have a better chance of getting picked up full time." Farkle told her. Lucas tried to motion him to stop talking.

"My dad has been working here for seven years and they only just let him on full time last year." Riley said.

Farkle's eyes widened as if just remembering her dad taught there. "And I'm sure he'll stay full time. He teaches a ton of classes."

"Yeah," Lucas said trying to make her feel better. "And nobody would ever want any history teacher besides your dad. He's the best."

Riley looked like she was about to have a melt down when Maya showed up to save the day. Lucas smiled when she walked in but his face fell a bit when he saw the woman who walked in behind her. She latched onto Maya's wrist tightly when she caught up to her.

She was blonde like Maya but her hair was up in a bun thing and she wore huge sunglasses and a lot less clothes than the other moms. She looked young probably 32 or 33 almost more like a sister of a fifteen year old than a mother.

Maya walked slowly towards them with her mother hot on her heels. Riley was quick to greet her with her usual smile. "Hi Mrs. Hart it's wonderful to see you."

"Hi Ryan," She said while giving Lucas an extra long once-over.

Maya gave her mom a look and hissed, "It's Riley."

Her mom tightened her grip on Maya and gave her a hard look. "Watch your ton missy."Maya flinched.

Nobody said anything for a while until Lucas finally decided to speak. "My name is Lucas ma'am and this here is Farkle." He pointed at Farkle.

"Now Maya," Mrs. Hart smiled at Lucas. "Why can't you be more polite like this you gentleman."

Maya shook her head. "Sorry I wasn't born in Texas."

Mrs. Hart's smile turned into a scowl. "I need to head to my meetings. I better here good news." She gave Maya a warning look.

Her mom took off and everybody seemed to simultaneously let out a breath. Riley looked towards the extracurricular booths. "Come on Farkle help me sign up for stuff!" Riley screeched dragging Farkle away.

Maya laughed a bit but her face remained emotionless. She was staring at the wall next to Lucas's head trying to avoid eye contact. Lucas let her have a few moments of silence before it got to him. " What's wrong?" he asked.

She still wouldn't look at him. she just shook her head and look towards Riley. "Maya Can you please tell me what's on your mind."

Maya looked at him but he felt like she was looking straight through him. "What if the teachers tell my mom on me? I mean i know i can be bad, but if they tell my mom she'll be so pissed." She told him almost on the verge of tears. "I didn't want her to come i swore it wasn't important. I promised it was nothing important but she wouldn't have it. I should've been better. I should've done better in school."

Lucs wanted to comfort her but he didn't know what to say. He had been worried about it too. Maya could be a lot to handle and not every teacher appreciated her actions. She was loud and she spoke what was on her mind. It was his favorite thing about her. He really didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want her know the truth.

He grabber her shoulder and looked her in the eye. I'm here for you ok," He tried to comfort her.

She leaned her head onto his hand took a deep breath. "Thank you."

He nodded at her assuringly. "Of course," he told her.

Suddenly as if coming out of a trance she looked at his hand on her shoulder. She blushed slightly and pulled away from his touch. "I..." She got cut off.

"Maya! Where are you? We need to talk about something! Now!" A voice yelled. Maya hurried off towards where the voice came from leaving him behind.

He looked for where she had taken off to but something got in his way. "All your teachers seem to love you!" his dad said proudly. "They all speak very highly of you."

"Thank you dad," Lucas told him trying to see into the crowd. He couldn't find her anywhere. "Have you seen Maya?

His dad shook his head. "No but I saw her mom early and she did not seem happy." He gave Lucas a look. "You be careful with that girl now son. None of your teachers seem to have good news to give to her mother."

"You don't know her." He bit back.

"Are you back talking me son?"

"No sir. I'm just correcting you."

"What has gotten into you?" his father was mad now.

Lucas knew he needed to stop arguing and go find Maya so he sucked up his pride and gave into his father. "I don't know I'm sorry, but i really need to find someone." His dad nodded at him still a bit hurt from the conversation.

Lucas ran out through the halls until finally he heard screams coming from an door leading outside. He could hear someone yelling but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

When he got closer he knew it was Maya's mother yelling something about Maya being a waste of time and money. After a little while longer he heard a loud crash followed by a screech of pain. He saw Maya's mom coming his way so he ducked behind the lockers. The second she was out of sight he ran out side.

What he saw was enough to haunt him for the rest of his life. Maya was on the ground by the dumpster cradling her left arm which seemed bent at a painful angle. There was a large cut above her left eye and her lip was busted. She looked completely broken, but she pulled herself off the ground still cradling her arm and that's when she noticed him.

She seemed surprised to see him there but not angry. She looked a bit ashamed. Her eyes left his face and stayed staring at the ground. He took a step closer to her then another and anther and soon enough he was standing in front of her.

He brought his hand up to look at her injuries but she flinched away from him. "Lucas I'm fine seriously." she told him. He knew she was trying to convince herself more than him.

"Don't lie to me," He said inspecting her face. "You are definitely not fine. Now tell me the truth."

She looked at him for a second then the tears started falling. He pulled her closer handheld her she cried. He wanted to help her. To take all of her pain away. But he didn't know how. So he just held her close to himself.

All he wanted was for her to be ok.


End file.
